1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to devices and methods for cleaning eyewear.
2. Related Art
Lenses and frames of eyewear gather dust, fingerprints, sweat, and other foreign substances through daily wearing activities. Known eyeglass cleaning devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,101 issued to Avi Mor on Sep. 1, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,350 issued to Paul Ewen on Jan. 15, 2002, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,980 issued to Jean Gehrig et al. on Aug. 19, 2008.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,101 discloses a compact portable lens washing apparatus including a wash chamber, a reservoir for holding wash fluid, a pair of spaced nozzles facing each other, a lens support for holding a lens between the nozzles, a pump for squirting wash fluid through the nozzles onto the lens, a heater for heating the wash fluid, mechanism for maintaining a wash fluid vapor atmosphere in the wash chamber after the pump shuts off, and electronic elements for controlling the operation of the apparatus. Also disclosed is a method for washing a lens that includes the steps of impinging the lens surfaces with an organic volatile wash fluid during a wash cycle, shutting of the flow of wash fluid, allowing residual wash fluid to be drawn of the lens edge by fibers or filaments, and drying the lens in the presence of a wash fluid vapor atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,350 discloses a portable device for cleaning eyeglasses. A transparent enclosure is provided having an upper chamber for cleaning the eyeglasses, a lower left chamber which may be removable for containing the cleaning solution and a lower right chamber housing a pump which is powered by batteries and controlled by a microprocessor. The pump circulates cleaning solution through a plurality of apertures in the floor of the upper chamber which creates a spray on the eyeglasses. A fan with a heating coil then circulates warm air over the eyeglasses in order to dry them.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,980 discloses a washing machine for glass lenses or other similar items of the type including a conveyor which has a bearing surface for moving the lenses through a washing chamber made of a succession of washing means. The traction force transmitted by the aforementioned bearing surface is carried out by two chains with endless links, located on the both sides of the aforementioned bearing surface, each chain being joined at the longitudinal side corresponding to the aforementioned bearing surface and is stretched tight between two driving gears, of axis parallel to the plane of the aforementioned bearing surface and perpendicular to the direction of displacement.